About Me: I am an engineer, inventor & professor who now works and invests from global locations.
My Focus: I reinvent academics to create impact via ventures and industry innovation
For over twenty years, I have taught and advised the world’s top engineers, scientists, and executives on the technical skills - as well as the mindsets and behaviors - needed to innovate, lead, and commercialize technology.
Ikhlaq Sidhu
Dean & Professor, IE School of Science & Technology
UC Berkeley, SCET Founding Faculty Director & Chief Scientist Emeritus
My Academic Re-Inventions:
Founded the Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology in 2005.
Co-created the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship - developing the #1 entrepreneurial university in the world (PitchBook), 2009
Created the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, 2010
Developed the Engineering Leadership Program (ELPP) for Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Cisco, SAP, VMWare, and many more, 2011
Invented and taught Data-X: a Berkeley program merging highly applied data science with entrepreneurship and innovation, 2015
Founding Dean of IE School of Science & Technology, a new polytechnic in Europe at IE School of Science & Technology. Creating the future of learning and research by connecting industry, ventures, students, and researchers.
Founding Member of Rise Europe, one of the original network builders who co-launched Europe’s alliance of leading startup ecosystem hubs in 2023
Industry and Venture Impact:
Communication networks, data, & AI: From seminal theory to product development, 60+ patents, covering technology in Skype, NetMeeting, Zoom, WhatsApp, and Wireless mobility. From 2000 onwards
ONSET Venture portfolio of early-stage tech and healthcare startups, across software, medical devices, diagnostics, and infrastructure. 2012-2019
Xfund portfolio, which includes high-impact startups in biotech, fintech, AI/analytics, SaaS, and consumer & health tech. 2015-2020
future brAIn, it’s an AI-driven SaaS platform that provides real-time, actionable insights into organizational culture, engagement, and team dynamics. 2022
Elysium Innovation is an educational platform that combines project-based, peer-to-peer learning with partnerships among universities, mentors, and industry to foster tech entrepreneurship and innovation. 2024
Simudrone Venture - Large-scale drone control and manufacturing in the United States. 2025
Ikhlaq Sidhu
Formal Titles:
Dean & Professor, IE School of Science & Technology, in Madrid, and Global
Founding Faculty Director, Chief Scientist Emeritus & Fellow, UC Berkeley SCET
Senior Fellow, UC Berkeley IES, Focus Area Technology, People, and Policy
Chief Scientist and Faculty Chair, IEX Research Accelerator & Think Tank
Founding member of Rise Europe
Founding Chief Scientist at Berkeley CFI & ELPP Engineering Leadership Faculty Lead
Internationally Renowned Scientist and Inventor with over 60 patents
Academic, Author, Tech Entrepreneur, & Board/Advisor
Talk with my AI:
You can ask: Where can I learn science & technology? What is AI? What does a photon weigh? ... Formal Biography:
Ikhlaq Sidhu is the Dean and a Professor of the School of Science & Technology at IE University in Madrid and globally. He has been the Founding Faculty Director and Chief Scientist Emeritus of UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology since 2005. He created the groundbreaking Data-X applied data science program at Berkeley, authored the book "Innovation Engineering," and co-developed the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship. He has been a prolific researcher with seminal work and over 60 patents in Internet communications, data, AI, and networks.
Dr. Sidhu received the IEEE Major Education Innovation Award in 2018, the Berkeley IEOR Emerging Area Professor Award in 2009, 3Com Corporation’s Inventor of the Year Award in 1999, and UC Berkeley's Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times Award in 2021. He also serves in selected advisory and board positions.
Dr. Sidhu holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master’s degree, a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University, and an honorary Ph.D. in 2023 from Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering in Sweden.
Courses Topics
AI/Data/Technology:
From Code to DemystificationInnovation Culture
Engineering Leadership
Tech Venture and Bootcamps
Popular Lecture Topics:
Innovation Leadership with Mindset & Culture
Generative AI, ChatGPT Implications
Exponential Technology Trends
AI and Data Innovation & Strategy
Management in the Age of AI
Engineering Leadership
Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship
Recent Talks:
Blockchain Regulation, State of the Union for EU, EUI, May 2024
Lead Session, Tech Venture Bootcamp, Madrid, IE Sci-Tech, April 2024
Invited Talk, Building a Next Generation, Entrepreneurially-Driven Polytechnic, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, April 2024
Key Speaker and Host, Rise Europe Summit, IE School of Science & Technology, Madrid, April 2024
Panel Session, CleanTech for Iberia Collider, IE School of Science & Technology, Madrid, April 2024
Session on Purpose and Profit in the Age of AI, Economist Business Impact Summit, London, March 2024
Ikhlaq Sidhu with John Maeda, Hay Festival, Sept 2023
Workshop: AI for Banking, Kuwait 2023
Board Roles
Board of Directors, AOE Meta, since 2024.
Advisory Board, Future Brain, since 2024
Board of Directors, Center for Health & Well-being, IE University, Madrid, Since 2024
Board of Advisors, Prague School of Economics and Business (VSE) since 2022
Advisory Board, Lund University X-Lab, since 2022
Board of Directors, Qatar Foundation, since 2019
Board of Trustees of the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar, since 2016
Board Member, Fellow, Co-Founder, Applied Innovation Institute, since 7/ 2012 (501.3c)
Former:
Advisory Board, BI Business School, Norway, since 2019-2023
Faculty Steering Board, Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, UC Berkeley, 2018-2022
Awards & Programs
Honorary Ph.D. from Lund University in 2023
Extraordinary Teaching Award, UC Berkeley, 2020
IEEE Major Innovation Award in 2018
Berkeley Extraordinary Teaching Award, 2022IEOR Emerging Area Professor Award in 2009
3Com Corporation Inventor of the Year
Program Area Links
Background and Full CV
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Full CV
Link to CV
Dean & Professor, IE Sci-Tech
Author: "Innovation Engineering"
Berkeley Method, Data-X, 5G/AI
Board roles and affilations -
Publications & Patents
Link to the Publication
Data/AI
Networks/ Systems
Management Science
Innovation Behaviors & Mindset -
Awards
Follow this Link to Recent News
Honorary Ph.D. from Lund University in 2023
IEEE Major Innovation Award in 2018
Berkeley Extraordinary Teaching Award, 2022
IEOR Emerging Area Professor Award in 2009
3Com Corporation’s Inventor of the Year